Cpt. Ian Townsend

545th MP Company, 1st Cavalry Division

Fort Hood, Texas  - Now deployed in Iraq

Here I wanted to show you the contrast as we drove through Baghdad. The picture above is of a kid and his donkey next to lots of trash. The one below is about the best house I could get a picture of as we were rolling by and I was shooting digital photos I hoped would turn out. In front of the house is a taxi (orange and white). They are everywhere and all are old and beat up.

This place is amazing. Saddam has these beautiful palaces (more photos to follow later) and then the people live in filth. Much of Baghdad is a dump, literally. There are miles of trash and dirt and debris everywhere. What I can't pass on to you here are two things, smell and the sounds. The smell is that of burning trash and the sounds are those of the normal big city mixed with gunfire, sometimes nearby, sometimes in the distance. There is also the occasional mortar round landing somewhere. Makes for fun all around.

Promotions on 10 April 04. Here newly promoted Privates First Class Briggs (male) and Holtzmeister (female) get their new rank from their sergeants while the 545 guidon flies proudly.

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